Rotary drive wheel type



invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an electrical musical instrument including a source of tonefrequency current and a tone producing means, control means comprising atuber-having a grid connected to said source, means to supply asubstantially constant negative bias to the grid suilicient to bias thetube past out off, a source of positive direct current, a keying switchfor connecting the source to the grid, a resistor in series with theswitch, a condenser "inshunt with the resistor, and a shuntcircuitaround the resistor having a switch therein to vary the attack ofthe tone produced.

2. In an electrical musical instrument including a source of tonefrequency current and a tone producing means, control means comprising atube having a grid connected to said source, means to supply asubstantially constant negative bias to the grid sufficient to bias thetube past cut off, a source of positive direct current, a keying switchfor connecting the source to the grid, a resistor in series with theswitch, a condenser in shunt with the resistor, a second condenserconnected between the source and the resistor to ground, and a switch inseries with the second condenser to vary the decay of the tone produced.

3. In an electrical musical instrument including a source of tonefrequency current and a tone producing means, control means comprising atube having a grid connected to said source, means to supply asubstantially constant negative bias to the grid sufficient to bias thetube 7 1 past cut off, a source of positive direct current, a keyingswitch for connecting the source to the grid, a resistor in series withthe switch, a condenser in shunt with the resistor, a second condenserconnected between the source and the re- J sistor to ground, a shuntcircuit including a switch around the resistor to vary the attack of thetone produced, and a switch in circuit with the second condenser to varythe decay of the tone.

4. In an electrical musical instrument including a source of tonefrequency current and a tone producing means, control means comprising atube having a grid connected to said source, means to supply asubstantially constant negative bias to the grid sufiicient to bias thetube past cut oil, a source of positive direct current, a keying switchfor connecting the source to the grid, a resistor in series with theswitch, a condenser in shunt with the resistor, a second condenserconnected between the source and the resistor to ground, a secondresistor in series with the second condenser, a shunt circuit includinga switch around the second resistor, and a switch in series with thesecond condenser.

5. An electrical musical instrument comprising an oscillator circuitincluding an electron discharge tube having a plate circuit and acathode circuit, the plate and cathode circuits providing tone frequencycurrents of different character, a pair of control tubes having controlgrids connected respectively to the plate and cathode circuits of theoscillator, means to supply a substantially constant negative bias tothe grids of the control tubes, and keying means for each of the controltubes including a plurality of switches in parallel for connecting thetube grid to separate sources of positive potential, and resistorsbetween the switches and the sources to prevent cross feeding betweenthe switch circuits when a plurality of the switches are closedsimultaneous- 6. In an electrical musical instrument including aplurality of sources of tone frequency current of different frequenciesand tone producing means, control means comprising a plurality ofcontrol tubesconnected to the sources respectively to control connectionthereof to the tone producing means, and a plurality of keying meanseach including a plurality of switches connected to different ones ofthe control tubes, there being a plurality of switches associated withdifferent keying means connected to each of the control tubes, resistorsin series with the switches, condensers in parallel with the resistors,and shunt switches around the resistors to control the attack of a tone,n

7. In an electrical musical instrument including a plurality of sourcesof tone frequency current of different frequencies and tone producingmeans, control means comprising a plurality of control tubes connectedto the sources respectively to control connection thereof to the toneproducing means, a plurality of keying means each including a pluralityof switches connected to different ones of the control tubes, therebeing a plurality of switches associated with different keying meansconnected to each of the control tubes, resistors in series with theswitches, condensers in parallel with the resistors, a second set ofcondensers connected respectively from points ahead of the resistors toground, and switches in circuit with the condensers of the second set tocontrol the decay of a tone.

8. An electrical musical instrument comprising sources of tone frequencycurrents of different characters and of the same fundamental frequency,a control tube connected to each of the sources to control thetransmitted amplitude thereof, means for combining the outputs of thecontrol tubes, and translating means connected to the last named meanfor translating the combined outputs into sound.

9. An electrical musical instrument comprising a plurality of sources oftone currents of different frequency of one character, a plurality ofsources of tone currents of different frequency of a differentcharacter, keying means to control the transmission of signal currentsfrom said sources, means for combining the tone currents of said onecharacter, means for combining the tone currents of said differentcharacter, means for combining the outputs of the two last named means,and translating means for translating the combined outputs of the lastnamed means into sound.

10. An electrical musical instrument comprising a plurality of sourcesof tone currents of different frequency of one character, a plurality ofsources of tone currents of different frequency of a differentcharacter, keying means to control the transmission of signal currentsfrom said sources, a low impedance transformer for combining the tonecurrents of said one character, a low impedance transformer forcombining the tone currents of said difierent frequency, and translatingmeans connected to both of the transformers to translate the combinedoutputs thereof into sound.

11. An electrical musical instrument comprising a plurality ofoscillator circuits each including an electron discharge tube having aplate circuit and a cathode circuit, control tubes associated with theplate and cathode circuits of the oscillators respectively, means forcombining Sept. 13, 1949. R. E. MCLEAN 2,481,609

ROTARY DRIVE WHEEL TYPE CAN OPENER Filed May 28, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1[-f. g U /2 w #6 IN VEN TOR.

P 1949- R. E. M LEAN 2,481,609

ROTARY DRIVE WHEEL TYPE CAN OPENER Filed May 28, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2IN V EN TOR.

R. E. M LEAN ROTARY DRIVE WHEEL TYPE CAN OPENER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3fltforney Sept. 13, 1949.

Filed May 28, 1946 inner end portion Mb is torsionally twisted withrespect to the portion I la and is positioned on the outer or upper sideof the inclined portion b of the body plate to which it is secured bythe rivets I5. The twist of the portion Mb is such that when it issecured to the body plate in the manner shown, the outer end portionwhich engages the hand, will be disposed in a vertical plane parallelwith-andpassing across the inner side of the lower-portion a.

The top edge of the portion Ma iii the upper handle is shaped to providethe relatively wide flange [6, which is disposed ina plane extendingaisipob 4 r a sufiiciently wide bearing surface is provided on eachhandle against which the hand may bear so that the'device may be used incomfort.

Disposed against the inner side of the inner portion b of the body plateand secured thereto .by the rivets I5 is a cutter carrier plate 21 whichistransversely slit along the two parallel lines 28 from the bottom edgeof the plate to provide the central portion 28a andr-the .two side wingportions 281). jThese side wing; portions 28b have.

the rivets l5 extending therethrough as shown in .Figure 3 andaccordingly it will be seen that the across the underlyingvertical-='portion of thehandle as best seen in Figure 12. i

The numeral I! generally designates thelower handle which is movablerelative to the body plate and to the handle [4 and this lower-handlecomprises the outer end portion Ila and the inner end portion I 'lb,which extends across the inner side of the lower part a, of the bodyplate as shown in Figures 3 and 11.' The portion ill; of the lowerhandle is initially of materially greater length than the portion lb ofthe upper handle.

.andthis longer part of the lower handle is bent back upon itself toforma yoke which is generally designated l8 and which comprises, inaddition to the portion Hi), the rounded forward end part Ma and theouter plate portion-58b The lower part a of the body plate is receivedbetween the two portions lib and iSbeof theyoke and such portions extendacross the elliptical opening H as is clearlyshown in: Figures 1, 3 and11.

Passing through the forward end portion of the yoke, that is, throughthe two spaced parts thereof andalso through the body plate I0, is apivot pin or rivet l9 upon which the handle I 1 rocks.

As shown in Figure 11 there is extended through I the interposed platebody."

At the inner end of the'bearing sleeve 20, the

sleevecarries a lateraljflange 22 which functions as a spacer for thetoothed wheel 23.which is mounted uponrthe shaft ,2 4. This shaft passesthrough the bearing sleeve 20 and upon its' outer side it has securedthereto the thumb andv finger crank'which is generally designated.25.

The outer'end portion Ila and the portion Nb of the handle 'lie" inthe'plane of the outer portion 14a of the handle M. This is. clearlyshown in Figure 9. Alsogithe lower edge of the movable handle I! isshaped to provide the relatively Wide flange 26 which liesin a planetransversely to the plane of the body of the handle as shownin Figure12, wh'ereby a relatively broad surface is provided for contact with theinner sides of the fingers. Thus it will be seen that the portions ofthe two handles l4 and I! which are grasped in the hand when the openeris being used, lie inthe same plane and are provided at their remoteedges with the relatively wide flanges l6 and 26 wherebythe handlesmaybe convenientlyflforced together without danger of having the deviceturn in the hand and at the same time binding action upon V ner whichwill be readily obvious.

I upon the bolt.

central portion 28a, being unattached through the major portion of itsheight, will have a certain degree of resiliency.

Threaded through the free lower end of the portion ZBa is. the disccutter support bolt 29 which carries upon its threaded end the lock nut30 which is positioned in the opening l2 and between the angled portionNb of the handle 14 and the central portion 28a of the plate 21.

Rotatably supported upon the bolt 29 isthedisc cutter 3| which has arelatively long hub 32 whereby good stability is given to the cutter asit rotates As shown in Figures 9 and 11 the can rim engaging drivingwheel 23 is disposed in a plane between the cutter 3] and the body platewhereby, when the Wheel is engaged beneath the can rim and the handlesand II are forced together, the

yoke will shift the wheeltoward the cutter and i the edge of the cutterwill beforced into thehead of the can, the wall of the can beinginterposed between the side of theicutter disc and the inner face of thewheel. 'Rotar'y motion may then be imparted to thewheel 23 soas toeffect the turning of the can with respect to the cutter disc, by turninthe thumb and finger crank 25 in a man As shown in Figures 3 and 9 tobest advantage,

the lower end of each portio'n28b has extending therefrom as an integralcontinuation thereof and in a plane perpendicular to the lower part a ofthebody plate, a can'rim engaging foot'28c.

i 'When the device is applied toa can the top edge of the canrim willbutt against the under sides of the feet 280 andturn thereagainst.Also,'as will be readily apparent, the side of the can below the wheel23 will rest against the free end of the foot rest l3 whereby, dueto1the fact that the end of the rest [3 projects inwardly beyond theplane of the inner face of the wheel '23, the device Will be maintainedon the can at the proper inclination to reduce the frictional engagementof the side of the can against the adjacent face of the driving Wheel toa minimum. Y

The top edge of the plate 21' has a turned flange 33 which extendsoutwardly across the top edge Mb of the handle l4.

] The'can rest plate 21 is formed of materialof of the portion 1) of thebody plate and the portion sufficient resiliency to permit the lower endof the central portion 28c to be forced inwardly toward the can whennecessary, such as when the cutter supported thereon passes the seam-ofa can.

' Figures 4 and 5 illustrate 'a second embodiment of the invention whichis actually merely a modification of the structure shown in Figures 1 to3 directed to the means by which rotary motion is given to the wheeldriving shaft. Accordingly; it

is not believed necessary to go into a detailed description of the partsof this modified structure which correspond to or are-the same as theparts in the first embodiment.

In the modified construction inet ay plate which is designated M hasformed integral with theforwardedge the ear 35. The lower or pivotedhandle, designated 85, has formed integral there-.- with the yoke 31 isof materially greater length than-the yoke 48 and encloses the ear 35 asshown in Figure '5.

The two side portions of the yoke '31, corresponding respectively'to theinner and outer portions 1 1b and lab, are designated 38 and 39 andpassing through these two side portions of the yoke and through the earieis the relatively long pivot pin 40.

The-can rim engaging drive wheel supporting shaft is designated M andpasses through the bearing sleeve 42 which corresponds to the sleeve2'0. Upon the :outer end of the shaft 41 is secured the relatively largegear by means of which rotary motion is imparted to the shait M and tothecanr'im enga g ingdriving wheel, not shown.

Numeral M designates a pinion gear which is mounted upon the pivot pinit and has as an integral part thereof the hub 45 which is positionedbetween the pinion gear and the side 39 of the yoke 3%. "Thus the piniongear, which is of a width considerably greater than the gear 13, ismaintained in proper position for toothed connection at all times withthe larger gear.

The numeral 45' designates a spacer which is journaled in 'the openingorbea-ri-ng of the car 35 and which is securely riveted by the rivet 4and maintains the port-ions corresponding to the portions MD and {8b inspacedpa-rallel relation to each other so they snugly straddle-the-lower portion corresponding to portion a.

inasmuch as the can engaging driving wheel, not shown, rotates in theopposite direction to the corresponding wheel 2'3, the teeth thereof,obviously, would be shaped for such opposite rotation.

The numeral 45 designates a crank arm upon the free outer end of whichis pivotally mounted the crank handle 41. The other er mounted end ofthe crank arm 46 has the outer end of the pinion gear 44 mounted thereinas shown in Figure 4 and the ends ofthe teeth of the pinion gear areswaged as shown by the dotted lines 48 whereby to securely lock thecrank and pinion gear together. I

It will be readily apparent that in the form of the invent-ionshow-n inFig-ores 4 and the handle 3:3 oscillates on the pivot pin 40 to effectthe movement of the can rim engaging drivingwheel either toward or awayfrom the-cutter. When the-device is applied to a can, rotary motion isimparted to the driving wheel through the medium of the crank arm 46 toeffect rotation of the gear 43 to which, through the medium of the shaftM, the can rim engaging driving wheel, not shown, is operatlvelycoupled.

Figures 6, '7, 8 and 10 illustrate another form or embodiment of theinvention in which form also the body plate, which is here generallydesignated i8, is of the same form, as shown in Figure 10, as the bodyplate NJ in that it has the lower portion a. which is disposedsubstantially vertically when the device is in position for use, and theobliquely angled upperportion b' which is inclined toward the inner sideof thecutter.

The lower portion a is provided with the vertically extending ellipticalopening 45 and the inc'lined upper portion 11 is provided with a notchor recess '58 in its top edge, for the purpose hereina-ft-erdescr-ibed.7

The upper or fixed hand-1e, generally designated 5'! has the torsionallytwisted forward end 8 portion 52 secured by the rivets: fl to'fil'le'top side of the inclined portion 1a; the upper part of theportion 52 covering the outer-side :of the notch or recess 50. a

The numeral 54 designates the thumb and finger crank which is here asbe'ing or slightly different form fromthe orank=25 that it is out Orstamped from :a'single' pie'oe of material and is integrally formed thestem or 'shaf-t'55 which is of polygonal cross section; This shaftpasses through and is secured to a tourrrail disk '56 which is locatedinthe elliptical -=operring or slot4'9, as shown in Figure 'imand at theinner side of the-disk 5B theshaft passes through and is secured to thejournal bearing 5 while upon the inner side of -this joumalbearingthetoothed can rim engaging driving wheelhais mou-nted'upon and secured "tothe shaft 55.

The numeral 59 generally designates the pivoted handle which has the*flatforward end portion 69 disposed against'the innersi'de of the bodyplate 48. This flat portion "60 of the pivoted handle terminates at theforward "edge of the body plate and is pivotal-1y coupled'thereto by thepivot rivet 6|. It will bereadily; seen that due to the twistedrelationship between the rear end of the handle 51 and the forward end"portion 52 thereof the two handles "5| and 59jlie in the same plane asto those portions which are grasped in the hands.

The forward end portion 60 of thehah'dle 59 is suitably apertured, asshown in Figure 1'6, to receive the bearing journal-57 so that thehandle 59 may be oscillated about the journal and the shaft 55 while theshaft isbeingrotated'and also while the entire unit making 'upthe shaft,thumb and finger crank, handle 59 and drivewheeltll, is moved in theelliptical slot "49 for effecting the desired relative movement betweena can head and the head penetrating knife.

The upper portion b of the body plate has secured to "the inner sidethereof the can rest and cutter supporting plate 62 which is secured inposition by the rivets -53 whichfunction to secure the top or fixedhandle 5 ltothebody'plate. This can rest plate is provided with thespaced slits 63 and the portionof material lying thereb'etwe'e'n andforming'a central tongue 64,is bent outwardly away from the inner sideof the portion 'b"., to a position where it is "substantially parallelwith the lower portion a as shown in Figure 1'0. This tongue (itprovides a resilient support for a straight knife type cutter 55 whichis secured against the side of the tongue 6'4 whichis nearest to thebody plate, by the screws 65. 'Thelml'fe is thus maintained in a planewhich is off-set inwardly from the inner face of the can rim engagingdriving wheel 58 as shown in Figure ."1'0 so that when the wheel isengaged beneath a can rim and moved toward the cutter or knife 65, thepoint of the knife will penetrate the head of the can on the inside ofthe can rim and the side wall "of the can will be disposed between theadjacent faces of the knife and wheel. The resilient character oftherimetal of which the tongue 64*is formed permits a degree of "lateralmovement of the tongue and knife so that a thickened portion of the canrim wall as, for example, the seam portion, may readily pass between theknife and wheel.

The end or wing portions '6] of the plate '62, through which portionsthe rivets 53 pass,'have formed integrally with the bottom edges thereofthe inwardly directed feet 6 8 which are substan-. tially' perpendicularto the "inner side 'of the

